The Devil's Throne (+4)

Peasant bread to feed the masses,

millers stone between the classes

Grovel here and grovel there,

crumbs for beggars—no meat to share

Caught inside the rising dough,

leavened voices cry out low

Baking deep within the flames,

bribes that lie—and Lords to blame

With each slice cut, Hell calls a name,

its coals to brand, ignoble fame

Bread for the masses, meat off the bone,

revenge on fire—the Devil’s throne

(Villanova Pennsylvania: February, 2018)

The Rim

Living along the ledges,

life is about the edges

The meaning sharpens and cuts

—the higher you go

(Bryn Mawr College: August, 2014)

Transubstantiation

When one man is cut

—every man starts to bleed

When one man is healed

—all men become as one

(Villanova Pennsylvania: September, 2014)

Dying Legions

Training the enemy within,

universities soldier on

Unchecked and unaccountable

They march to the beat of the

government drum

Tearing us apart from the inside

While Rome burns

—and Legionnaires die

(Villanova Pennsylvania: August, 2014)

The Vineyard

Heaven leaks the truth

to writers who thirst

The drip of each word,

filling line after line

All meaning distills,

when the words press together

The pages a vineyard

—as water becomes wine

(Villanova Pennsylvania: February, 2018)